


Division

by SpokaneValleyFreeway



Category: RWBY
Genre: Destruction, F/M, Past Rape/Non-con
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:29:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28190952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpokaneValleyFreeway/pseuds/SpokaneValleyFreeway
Summary: "We're two women of color, you think they'll make it easy on us?"A young woman joins a trucker to escape from her father, and together they begin their westward trek, both searching for some semblance of freedom.Inspired by American Truck Simulator and the 1915 Division Street Bridge collapse.
Relationships: Emerald Sustrai/Original Female Character(s)





	1. Chapter 1

Monday January 21, 2036  
Rochester

\- -

She hears her father's footsteps rapidly approaching. Her panic setting in, she throws her jeans and her phone into her new watertight bag, which she then shoves into her blue backpack. 

"Amethyst!" her father yells just outside the door. 

She does not answer. She frantically tries to open her bedroom window, but it is sealed shut with dried paint. 

"If I have to open this door myself you will not enjoy what follows! You have three seconds to comply! THREE!" 

She grabs her bike lock key and starts slicing the paint in the window sill. 

"TWO!" 

She is almost to freedom, just on the other side of the window. She pulls back her fist and takes aim at the glass - 

"ONE!" 

And the door crashes open, making the house shudder. In a flash, her father is on her, forcing her to turn around to face her, ripping her blue face mask off her face and throwing it on the floor behind him. The smell of alcohol burns her eyes and throat. 

"Why are you so late getting home?" 

Amethyst struggles to find words right away. 

"Why?!" he snaps, shaking her and throwing her to the floor. She lands on her back, hitting her head hard. Stars float in her vision. 

"Th-th-the bus was running late!" she stammers, tears flowing to the back of her head. 

"What bus? The house is next to four bus routes! So why are you really late?! 

"Dad!" 

"You know what happens when you're late," he snarls. 

TRIGGER WARNING - SEXUAL ASSAULT

"Dad, please don't!" 

Father punches her face to stun her, then rips the lucky blue "Spokane" shirt she is wearing.

END TRIGGER WARNING

She screams, seemingly in slow motion, and as she does, the entire room flashes white and explodes outwards, launching her father into the night. 

Breathing hard, she lay on her back, trying to comprehend what has just happened. She looks around at her now-destroyed room, suddenly open to the brisk, dark sky. Feeling around herself for breaks, she determines she is fine. She slowly stands up with her mask in hand, takes a deep breath, and runs for it.

\- -

With blood seeping from his head, he limps back into the house and picks up his phone. 

"Straff." 

<Hey, captain, what's going on?>

"I don't have my radio with me. I need you to alert all other officers to a dangerous juvenile." 

<Okay. What details?>

"She's my daughter. Her name is Amethyst River-Knight. She is 17 years old, black hair, purple eyes, light brown skin. Wearing a black hoodie, a blue shirt, blue jeans, and a blue backpack. She is armed and dangerous. Do not kill her, I want her in lockup by morning. I'll deal with her when she arrives." 

<Okay captain.>

\- -

Amethyst feels the back of her head for a welt. Sure enough, it announces its presence with a sharp pain. She gasps and removes her hand. 

She looks down at her torn lucky shirt, sighing with relief and sadness. Blue is her favorite color. She has worn this shirt on days she knows she will have to deal with her dad. Had she not been wearing it tonight, he would have succeeded again. 

She sees the lights for the Apache Mall and pulls the stop request cord, letting the driver know to let her out at the next stop. 

"Stay warm out there, young lady," the driver says. 

"I'll try. Thank you ma'am," Amethyst says. She steps off, and then watches until the articulated bus disappears from view, then moves her mask below her chin.

It takes her two minutes to reach the doors to the mall. As she steps in and puts her mask back on, a blast of warm air hits her, a welcome feeling from the cold, crisp winter air. 

Her watch reads 414. She has just one hour to pick new clotches and then get to the Greyhound station to catch her bus to Spokane. She quickens her steps, her eyes darting for threats. 

\- -

"Blue backpack, yeah. We saw her walk in the doors a few minutes ago." 

The mall security guard is talking in his radio. 

<She is the daughter of RPD Captain River. The girl who just walked into the building, that's her. Find her and detain her.>

"Is that necessary? She's a little girl." 

<She caused an explosion at the chief's house after attacking him. He called for an alert. She is dangerous. Find her, and detain her. I ain't gonna ask again.>

\- -

Inside the Hot Topic, she pays for a new blue shirt and a new pair of jeans, and departs without saying a word to the clerk. Her watch says 426pm. She is making good time. 

As she nears the entrance to the store, she sees a pair of security guards to the right and another pair to the left, both at a reasonable distance. Walking quickly, pretending to be on her phone, Amethyst hangs a right to get to the escalator. 

Halfway to the escalator, Amethyst spots an actual RPD officer. She gasps softly, thinking the officer is her dad. She cannot see his face clearly, and he cannot see her at the moment. She suppresses her panic and forces herself to study him. 

This officer is shorter and skinnier. Her father is tall and bulky. 

Glancing behind her, the two security guards who were on the left of her are now tailing her, behind several large groups of people, moving faster now than before. 

"Jeez," she sighs. 

Amethyst is about to step onto the escalator when a loud voice rings out. 

"Rochester Police! You with the blue bag, stop and turn around now!" 

Amethyst stops, her breath shallow and rapid. 

"I said turn around!" 

She can hear footsteps approaching quickly, from behind and from both sides. 

"Now!" 

She looks down over the edge. Four more guards running to the escalators followed by two cops. 

Amethyst runs. 

A gunshot rings out, causing screams from her and other mall goers. As everybody sprints to get to safety, a guard tries to intercept her at the escalator. Just before he can tackle her, she slides under him and tumbles down the moving steps. A guard at the bottom reaches for her. She recovers from the fall quickly and punches him in the groin, downing him. Two more thundering shots bury themselves in the floor just ahead of her. She dives to the right, rolls, and tackles a third guard. 

She throws a civilian at a police officer, sending them both crashing to the floor. She leaps over a fourth guard, grabbing her head in midair, and slams her head on a table, knocking her out. Two guards rushing at her from either side. She slides to a stop and the guards collide with each other just in front of her. She leaps over them, trips and rolls just before the doors. Bracing for a collision, she gasps and throws her hands in front of her. And as before, the doors shatter and fly outwards. 

People flee from the doors, slowing the cops down. Glass rains down on her as she jumps to her feet and continues to sprint. Six police officers running behind her with lights and guns. She intends to lose them by running across United States Highway 14, a six-lane freeway teeming with rush-hour traffic.

Amethyst suddenly tumbles down an embankment. Her mask flies off her face as she yelps and splashes into a pond she never knew about. She decides to use it to hide from the cops, hoping they will turn around soon. Laying on her back under the dark water, she can see the white lights waving around.

"Did you find her?" 

"No, she fuckin' disappeared." 

"Did she run across the freeway?" 

"No. We would have heard horns from people trying to avoid hitting her. Only an idiot would try to run across that thing at this time." 

Amethyst is running out of air. She needs all those cops to leave the area so she can resurface. Struggling to hold her breath under the freezing water, she waits for the white lights to disappear. 

"Alright fine, call it in. Wherever she went, she isn't here anymore." 

Amethyst squeezes her eyes tightly and exhales a small amount of breath, grunting in discomfort, hoping the police cannot hear it on the surface. The lights dance around on the surface for ten more seconds and then depart. 

She runs out of air and sits up, gasping for breath and feeling for her backpack. When she finds it, she begins searching for her mask, but cannot locate it. She creeps along the northern edge of the pond and then climbs up the embankment to the freeway. Soaking wet and shivering, she glances back to the cops, who are trekking back to the mall entrance. She begins walking south on the shoulder. 

\- -

"She did not try to cross the freeway. Like I said. Because we would have heard the horns from cars. Like I said." 

"We should at least go look. She probably hid somewhere we couldn't see, and then tried to cross." 

The officers look back, and agaisnt the dim lights along the highway, they can see a dark figure moving to the south. 

"She's right there! Let's fuckin' go!" 

\- -

She has seen movies where hitchhikers try to flag down a truck. She does not want to do that but she cannot take the Greyhound anymore due to being soaked. She watches for a break in traffic. In her peripheral vision, she sees flashing white lights. She turns her head to the left gasps. 

A group of cops are running towards her, but they are a distance away, still in the mall parking lot. 

She gasps and darts into the road. All three northbound lanes of traffic screech to a halt, blaring their horns. Amethyst vaults over the K-rail and rolls as she lands, narrowly avoiding being struck by a car in the left lane. A truck in the middle lane careens to the left, hitting the K-rail. Finally on the other side, she waves her arms wildly, desperately trying to catch somebody's attention. A Freightliner with no trailer turns its hazard lights on and pulls to the shoulder. 

The driver honks once. Amethyst runs toward it and climbs up the steps. 

The driver rolls her window down and says "Come on in." 

Amethyst slams the door shut, buckles in, and shoves her backpack on the floor in front of her.

The driver turns her head and asks her new passenger, "Where do you need to go? And why are you all wet?" 

Panicked and pointing across the driver window, Amethyst blurts, "Please just drive, _please_ just drive!" 

"Okay." 

The driver floors it. The automatic transmission throws the truck forward faster than Amethyst has ever seen any truck move. She gasps and looks back. Several of the cops have opened fire on the truck, with two rounds hitting the driver's side door. 

"Come _on_ , I just fixed this truck!" the green-haired driver yells.

Several more bullets ricochet off the side of her truck before they stop firing. 

The driver asks her calmly, "Now that you are safe, do you wanna tell me what's going on?" 

Unable to answer her right away, Amethyst breaks down into tears silently. 

The driver glances over and catches a glimpse of the Great Northern Clock Tower and the US Pavilion on the young girl's blue shirt. Two beloved Spokane landmarks. 

"I can't even begin to tell you how lucky you are we're both going to the same city. We'll be there in about two days. Whatever those people did to you honey, I'm very sorry." 

Amethyst mentally acknowledges her and continues sobbing. Tears of exhaustion, fright, and relief.

\- -

"How the fuck did you lose her?!" Captain River berates an officer on the phone.

<She hid underwater in one of those ponds next to Exit 53 until we were convinced she was gone, and then she ran across the freeway and got in a truck with no trailer.>

"Do we know what this truck looks like?"

<It's a sleeper with Seahawks colors and a Washington State license plate, which would explain the Seahawks colors.>

"Are you a Seahawks fan?" The captain wonders aloud, before asking a new question. "Can you track it? We know she's probably trying to get to Spokane, so we need to send people there."

<Who do you think should go?>

"You, and two others of your choice. I'll meet up with you later in another city. Destination Spokane. Do it now."

The trucker has modified her CB radio to rely on satellite. This gives her unlimited range within North America. She picks it up and speaks.

"Hey Monica."

<Hey Emerald! It's good to hear your voice. I'm in Klansth Falls right now, heading back to the garage. How are you?>

"Uh ..."

Emerald takes a look at the teenager sleeping in her passenger seat.

"Remains to be seen. Hey listen, I am on my way to the garage. I am currently at a rest stop in Blue Earth, Minnesota. I need you to do something important for me."

<You got it boss, what do you need?>

Emerald can hear Monica's normally gleeful voice turn serious.

"Monica ..." Emerald pauses to gather her words. "I have an extra person in my truck. She's just a kid. She's running from her dad. Now I've been being tailed by exactly one police cruiser from Rochester, where I picked this girl up. They're trying to get her back. They did something to her, but she wouldn't say what. She ran across the highway to get away from them, got in my truck soaking wet, and started bawling her eyes out."

<Oh no,> Monica says sympathetically.

"Please, let the Spokane Police know where I am. We need their help when I return."

<Yes ma'am. Please be safe.>

"Thank you sweetie. You too."

Emerald places her radio back in the holder. It is 1035pm. She sighs deeply.

"Lord, what have I gotten myself into?" she whispers to herself.

\- -

\- Tuesday -

Amethyst suddenly feels herself being violently shaken. She wakes immediately, screaming in terror. She launches her fists at the threat.

"Hey, ow! It's just me!"

Amethyst takes a look around the cabin, and when her eyes settle on her green-haired, red-eyed rescuer, she wraps her arms around the woman in a hug and sighs in relief.

The driver is taken aback, but she slowly returns the hug. "I got you now, you're still safe."

"Thank you," Amethyst whispers.

"What did they do to you?" the driver asks cautiously.

Amethyst release her. She looks at the dashboard at a picture of the driver, and at the bottom is the word "Emerald". A small smile creeps onto her face.

"You're Emerald Sharpway, the owner of Sharpway Deliveries."

Emerald's eyebrows buckle in surprise. "You know me?"

"Yeah! You guys are the best cargo drivers in Spokane!"

"I wouldn't say the best, but ..."

"You were in the news a couple months ago for rolling your truck on the freeway and recovering it yourself."

"You don't wanna know how scary it is to crash a truck at 70 miles per hour. That dickhead brake-checked me."

"You're awesome! I've been wanting to meet you. Hi, I'm Amethyst."

Emerald nods slowly. "Now that we've officially met, I'm fuckin' hungry. There's a Subway right here. I know you're hungry too, let's go."

Amethyst peeks outside, afraid to leave the cab.

"It's fine. I've been watching for those cops. We're good. You have a mask?"

Amethyst shakes her head sadly. "I lost it in Rochester while trying to hide from the cops."

Emerald pulls two spare masks from the dashboard, puts one on and hands the other to Amethyst, who smiles at its blue color.

Emerald leaves and closes her door, then comes around to open Amethyst's door.

"You're good, just jump out."

Amethyst carefully puts one foot one the steps. She slips, yelps, and lands on her hands and knees. Her Aura flares a bright lilac color, protecting her from damage.

She gets up. "This thing's way taller than I remember."

"Yep. 605 horsepower, Cummins X15 engine, The best truck in my fleet. Unfortunately I only have three trucks, so."

Amethyst looks around at an unfamiliar semi-urban landscape. The sky is pitch black and the air is chilly.

"Where are we?"

"Sioux Falls. Near the center of the city but a couple miles north of its Downtown and very close to Interstate 90."

Amethyst puts her mask on and says, "Are you sure they don't know where we are?"

As they walk to the doors, Emerald reassures her, "They don't. And even if they did, I can force them to see something they don't wanna see."

\- -

The police cruiser maintains 60 miles per hour on the freeway. The driver picks up his radio.

"Captain River, we can't see them. Should we scope out all the truck stops?"

<I don't even know where you are. Tell me where, and then I'll decide.>

"We just entered Sioux Falls."

<Sioux Falls has a population of three-hundred-thousand. There are seven freeways there. Do you wanna scope out all the truck stops?>

"No."

<Then continue west.>

"Okay."

<Since we're talking, do you know anything about the truck she's in?>

"Ramsey did a search of all the green, blue and white trucks in Washington State. There are three total. They're all Freightliners. And they all belong to Sharpway Deliveries in Spokane."

<Good job. Hurry and get there. If they didn't stop in Sioux Falls, they'll be in Spokane soon. If they did ... I'll find them.>

\- - - -


	2. Chapter 2

Tuesday January 22, 2036

\- -

"Good morning, welcome to Subway, what can I get for you two ladies?"

"Don't know yet, sweetie, hold on please," says Emerald. "Amethyst, what do you want?"

"Why did you say good morning? It's like the dead of night," says Amethyst.

"It really is morningtime, it's just after midnight."

"Jeez," says Amethyst. "Can I get a footlong Meatball Marinara on flatbread with mayonnaise, provolone, and lettuce please?"

A shocked Emerald muses, "Girl you're tiny."

"Please?" she asks.

The sandwich artist acknowledges her. "You got it. Would you like this to be toasted?

Amethyst nods once.

"Alright, and what would you like, ma'am?"

Emerald thinks for a second. "I'll actually have what she's having, without the mayonnaise, toasted please."

The two ladies watch the young sandwich artist quickly and expertly assemble two subs.

"Would you ladies like anything to drink, or any snacks?"

Amethyst says, "May I have an orange juice?" She turns to Emerald and says again, "May I have an orange juice?"

"Yes you may. Whatever you want."

"That's all then sir, thank you," Amethsyt says.

He nods and faces Emerald. "Ma'am, would you like something to drink?"

"No thank you."

"That will be 24.70 ma'am."

Emerald hands him her debit card. The transaction proceeds smoothly.

"Thank you, young man. I hope they aren't working you too hard," Emerald says.

"Have a good day, ladies."

\- -

Back in the truck, Amethyst has finished her sub and her orange juice in five minutes. Emerald is only halfway done with hers. Their masks hang from their ears as they eat.

"Jeez woman," Emerald says. "Are you starving?"

_TRIGGER WARNING - PAST ABUSE / PAST RAPE_

Amethyst wipes her face clean with her napkins. "Up until then, I'm pretty sure I was."

Emerald blinks in shock. "You - you were?"

Amethyst sighs and nods. "In Rochester, a lot of kids don't have money for lunch. I'm one of them. And then at home, my dad hoards all the food for himself. I get little pieces, or peanut-butter sandwiches on whole grain bread, and I'm allergic to peanut butter, so I don't eat much else."

"Is that all he does?"

Amethyst shakes her head. "No, it's way more than that. He and my mom weren't married when he got her pregnant with me. They married quickly afterwards but not out of love. He was abusive in all the ways imaginable. She filed for divorce and almost didn't survive the beating from Dad when he found out. When she tried to sue for custody, Dad threatened to kill her and me. She was forced to move out of the city without me or any belongings, and she took up resident in Spokane.

"After my mom left, he became abusive to me too. In ways no teenage girl should ever experience. I've been pregnant from him. I miscarried due to severe physical abuse. It has happened more times than I can count."

Emerald has tears in her eyes at this point but she wipes them away. "Who else knows?"

Staring straight ahead at the wall in front of the truck, Amethyst answers, "Only you. And I can't call the police because he _is_ the police."

Emerald has lost her appetite, so she sets the remaining half of her sub on the dashboard and sniffles in sorrow. They both sit silently for a minute, and then Amethyst speaks.

"I went to school yesterday but spent the day raising some more money for myself to buy a Greyhound ticket to Spokane. I went to my friend's house to say goodbye to her because that would be the last time I'd ever see her again. I got home later than I should have and Dad attacked me. And when he threw me to the ground and tried to rape me again, the ceiling and walls exploded and he flew out of the house."

_END TRIGGER WARNING_

Emerald looks at Amethyst. "That's why they were trying to kill you."

Amethyst nods in acknowledgment. "Dad must have told the other police officers that I attacked him and destroyed our house."

She sighs. "The same ... shockwave power ... that came out of me out the house, also happened at the mall. I thought I was gonna crash through a ton of glass doors, but I put my hands up, and the doors blew outwards away from me."

Emerald nods slowly. "Your Semblance. You appear to have the power to create shockwaves."

Amethyst looks down and closes her eyes. "If I had this power before now, I would have been able to escape. No one will ever believe me if I tell them what he's done. And this will be the reason why. Instead of asking me if I'm safe, if he's threatening me to keep from outing him, they'll ask me if I secretly wanted it, or if I wore something that made him do it, or why I didn't try to stop him before."

Emerald puts a hand on the girl's shoulder softly. Amethsyt leans her head over to feel her hand.

"I believe you. Something similar has happened to me. And I will not allow anyone to touch you as long as we know each other."

Amethyst turns her head to face Emerald, looking into the woman's brightened eyes.

"I swear," says Emerald.

A small smile forms on Amethyst's face. "Thank you," she whispers.

Emerald puts her seatbelts on and starts the truck. "If you're still hungry, you may have the rest of my sandwich. I'm not hungry anymore."

As Emerald pulls out of the truck stop, Amethyst takes the sub and devours it happily.

"I'm running from my dad so I can live with my mom in Spokane. After she moved there, I learned everything I could about that place. The kind of people there, the activities to do, all the major roads. I cant wait to finally arrive there."

As she turns her truck left to enter westbound Interstate 90, Emerald says, "We'll be there soon enough sweetie. But first we're gonna get you a hotel room, a hot shower, and some sleep."

Amethyst sighs with a smile. "That sounds nice."

\- -

\- 5am -

Omaha Street north of downtown is three lanes wide on each side. At just after 5 in the morning, Emerald's Volvo turns left from Interstate 190 and heads east on this road. With her right hand she gently shakes Amethyst, who groggily stretches and wakes up.

"Welcome to Rapid City, sweetie. We're almost at the hotel, and then you can take a shower and go back to bed."

Amethyst groans and slumps to the side again, trying to return to sleep.

"Come on, we'll be there in like one minute."

Amethyst sighs and sits up, but keeps her eyes closed, trying to gain one last bit of sleep.

All three eastbound lanes are packed. After a bit of difficulty, Emerald eases her truck into the left-turn lane. A green light grants her access to North Fifth Street, and she pulls into the lot for the rather large Rushmore Plaza several seconds later.

Emerald had made an emergency reservation just after leaving Sioux Falls. There was one room left for her to reserve. The others are full of traveling families, despite the restrictions put in place to curb the pandemic.

As they pull in, Amethyst puts her mask on and pops all her fingers. This slightly alarms Emerald but she remains silent, parks the truck, and places her mask on her mouth and nose.

At the desk, the clerk asks their names.

"Emerald Sharpway. I made an emergency reservation around midnight, paid by phone."

"I'm Amethsyt. I'm a friend."

The clerk nods and hands them their key. "Fourth floor, four doors to the left once you're out of the elevator, and on the left side," she says politely.

"Thank you."

For a three-star hotel the room is gorgeous. Two queen beds, with gold and red silk saddles draped across each, in the middle of the room. A small nightstand in between with a lamp and a landline on top. A large dresser and a 50-inch flatscreen on top in front of the queens. Gold and red curtains with beaded retractors. Pure white towels in the bathroom with amenities and coffee at the sink.

Amethsyt immediately claims the bed closest to the door, setting her blue backpack at the door of the bed. She removes the inner waterproof resealable bag containing her phone and her new clothes, grateful she thought of investing in it in preparation for her trek west. She plugs her phone into her charger and sets it on the nightstand, along with the blue mask Emerald gave her. She walks to the bathroom and closes the door without a word.

She takes the bobbin pins out of her mid-back-length black hair before getting in. Gasping softly at the coldness of the water, she turns it to the right temperature. Squeezing shampoo into her hands and massaging it through her hair, she lets out a long, deep breath, closes her eyes, and enjoys the feeling of the warm water and soap on her light brown skin.

\- -

"Monica, hello?"

<Hi boss.>

"I'm in Rapid City right now with the girl. Her name is Amethyst. We'll stay here for an hour or so and then resume our trip. Do the Spokane Police know our situation?"

<Yes ma'am. At first they wondered why they were getting calls from the RPD until I cleared it up. They are monitoring the situation from here. Two cruisers belonging to the Rochester Police are missing. One was seen on Interstate 90 in Montana just now, and the other is unaccounted for. The Spokane Chief of Police says you have her department's full support when you arrive.>

Emerald nods in satisfaction. "Thank you, sweetie. What would I do without you?"

She can hear Monica's blushing chuckle on the other end, putting a smile on Emerald's face.

"You keep monitoring the situation please. I will be there in about a day."

<Yes ma'am. Be safe please.>

"You too sweetie."

Emerald ends the call and opens her banking app. A loan payment is due soon for some equipment she purchased for the company. She pays it, sets her phone down next to her, and sits quietly on her bed near the window. She takes a deep breath, listening to the shower, the sound calming her nerves and easing her mind.

\- -

\- 526am -

"I'm coming up on it soon," Captain River says.

<Do you need us to turn around?>

"No, you're too far away. Continue to Spokane."

<Okay. Good luck.>

River approaches the Rushmore with a modified tracking feature in his phone, which has allowed him to find one of the three trucks owned by Sharpway Deliveries, which he is lucky are all linked by satellite. Sure enough, one of them is here, but he has yet to figure out if his daughter is as well.

The woman behind the desk catches him in her eye and notes his lack of a mask. She stops him.

"Excuse me sir, I need you to have a mask on before coming in here. Do you have a mask?"

"No ma'am," he sighs. The clerk gives him a paper medical mask, and he reluctantly puts it over his mouth.

"What brings you from ... " she asks, noting his badge, "Rochester?"

"My daughter. She ran away with a friend last night."

"What are their names?"

"My daughter's name is Amethyst. Her friend's name is Emerald."

"And what's your name?"

"Cameron River."

"Okay, that will be two dollars."

River gives her a sideways expression.

"We require a two-dollar fee for entering a room held by someone else."

Riber sighs, pulls out his wallet, and hands her the only note he can see, a five-dollar bill. "Room number please. I need to get her back home, she forgot her insulin." He replaces his wallet and puts a hand on his pistol, becoming impatient with the delays.

"Room D-26, on the fourth floor and on the left."

"Thank you." He removes his hand from his gun and departs. As he gets closer to the door he rips his mask off and tosses it behind him.

\- -

Amethyst is dressed in her new blue shirt and blue jeans. As hard as it was for her to depart with her older blue "Spokane" shirt, the newer shirt feels better, being clean and soft. She has underestimated the size of her shirt as it is a bit short, not full covering her torso. She stretches it as much as it can stretch and falls on the bed on her back, ready to go back to sleep.

Emerald closes the curtains and plugs her phone into the outlet near Amethyst's phone. As she prepares to take a drink of a complimentary Powerade, somebody knocks on the door, prompting her to close the lid and approach the door.

"Room service!" says the newcomer. His voice makes Amethyst gasp softly but loudly enough for Emerald to hear the fear in her voice.

Emerald glances over at Amethyst, who is sitting up now and trying to squeeze into the space between the bed and the wall. Emerald's eyebrows furrow as she whispers to Amethsyt, "Who is this?"

"My dad!" she whispers. " He cannot know I'm here!"

Emerald says, "Sweetie, if he knows the room number, he already knows you're here. Stay down."

Emerald activates her Semblance and opens the door. Captain River steps in, his gun drawn.

"Amethyst, I know you're here! Come out _now_!"

Amethyst hides in the space, holding her breath. She glances at Emerald who holds a finger up to her mouth, 'be quiet'.

Cheif River points his pistol directly at her, and then moves to the next space.

Amethyst then remembers what Emerald said to her in Sioux Falls. "I can force people to see something they don't want to see."

Captain River looks out the window, expecting to see his daughter running in the dark, but he sees only the street.

He radios to his colleagues, "I don't have them. They were in here very recently but they're aren't here now."

<Alright man. We heading into Butte now, well ask around.>

Captain River holsters his gun and departs.

Amethsyt lets out her breath and jumps up to embrace Emerald.

"You're okay. He couldn't see us. I can convince people's minds that what they see is real. And all he could see was an empty room."

"That is awesome," Amethyst says. "You saved my life. Thank you."

"I told you, I will never let them touch you again."

The two women stay in their hug for a few more seconds.

"All right, pack your stuff quick. We need to go."

Amethsyt releases her and turns back to the bed longingly, trying to decide what to grab first.

"Quickly, milady! Let's go!"

At Emerald's sharp command, she springs into action. She grabs her phone and its charger and shoves it in her bag. Deciding at the last second to keep the torn Spokane shirt, she throws it in as well.

Emerald and Amethyst sprint out of the room and down four flights of stairs, and out the front doors in the span of thirty seconds. The clerk yells, "Have a good rest of your day!"

Captain River is outside inspecting Emerald's Freightliner. As he reaches inquisitively for a bullet hole in the driver's door, he hears rapid footsteps, sees Amethyst and Emerald sprinting toward him, and unholsters his weapon.

As Amethyst branches away from Emerald and hides between other cars, Emerald approaches River directly and cups her hands around his weapon just as he fires it, shattering against her Aura, which flares bright green as it protects her from extensive damage. Emerald's keys fly away from her as River launches a beefy fist at her face, knocking her to the ground.

She yells to Amethyst, "Get to the truck now, get to the truck _now!_ "

Amethyst retrieves the keys and runs to the truck. She throws the driver door open and scrambles inside, slamming the door behind her and starting the engine. Immediately afterward, her father yanks the door open and claws at her, until Emerald slams his head on the steering wheel. He falls partly out of the truck. Emerald closes the door with his head still in it, then throws him to the ground. Emerald jumps off the side of the truck, intending to punch him using her momentum. Her fist strikes the asphalt hard just as he moves his head to the side. The punch cracks the asphalt. Rolling out of her reach, he tackles her before she can dodge him, wrapping his hands around her neck tightly. Her airways cut off, Emerald tries to headbutt him, but he has her pinned firmly to the ground. He lifts her up and slams her head down, releasing a small shockwave.

Amethyst can see the two rolling on the pavement in the driver's side rearview mirror, and climbs out of the truck.

"After this," River snarls, "she will never see daylight again."

Amethyst blindsides him with a surprisingly powerful uppercut with her left fist and then a downward blow with her right fist. Emerald gasps ruggedly and sits up.

In an area of arriving sunlight, Amethyst and her father are entangled in each other's limbs.

Amethyst is consumed by adrenaline. Kneeling over him with a leg on each side, she swings her right fist repeatedly at her father's face, not knowing whether she is actually striking him.

"You! Will never! Hurt! Me! Again!"

Screaming in rage, with tears streaming down her face and into her mask, Amethyst continues to swing her fist, even as it become bloody from the force of the punches. Small shockwaves are released with the energy of each punch, shattering windows and setting off car alarms.

Several seconds later, Emerald tries to pull her off of him. Amethyst launches her left arm behind her without looking, sending Emerald flying against the truck.

"Amethyst!" she calls. "He's down!"

Amethyst cannot hear her. Emerald activates her Semblance.

Amethsyt falls backwards, blinded by a brief white flash. Opening her eyes and gasping for breath, she prepares for more crushing blows to his skull. When her father's lifeless body fails to react, she freezes, and then slowly lowers her arm.

Emerald rushes to her side and pulls her up. "He's dead, Amethyst," she reassures. "We need to go."

As they peel out of the parking lot amid a cloud of dust, Emerald uses her Semblance to hide the Freightliner, just as the Rapid City police arrive.

\- - - -


	3. Chapter 3

Tuesday January 22, 2036

\- -

\- 614am -

"Captain River, this is Straff. We found the garage."

Officer Straff, of the Rochester Police, talks into his radio, expecting an immediate answer from Captain River.

"Captain, we found the garage."

Still no answer.

"Captain, Ramsey and I have found the garage. Alonso and Fyers are en route. Copy?"

After a few seconds with no answer, Officer Straff puts his radio down.

"Why do you think he isn't answering?" Robertson pries.

"He's probably asleep," says Straff. "None of us have gotten any sleep, so it's best we find a place to do that as well. The garage will still be there, and we'll find the daughter there too."

He prepares to merge onto Interstate 90 northeast of Billings.

"Last I heard, he was in Rapid City. He said they were they 'very recently' but had just missed them."

"If that's the case, they're probably behind us. Do we wanna pull over and wait?"

"If we do that, we'll fall asleep and miss them, so no. We'll keep driving. We'll be there in about seven hours. Take a Five-Hour Energy or something."

\- -

\- 1129am -

Emerald has grown accustomed to staying awake for several days straight in her years of being a cargo driver, but she is beginning to feel the effects of the end of such a streak.

She sees a sign for Billings, stating they are ten miles away from the city. It will be a while before they arrive in Spokane. She has enough fuel for the remaining stretch. There she can find Amethyst's mother, turn Amethyst over to her, and then get the sleep she needs before the next job carrying petroleum. She yawns and looks at the time on her dashboard.

"Ugh, I wish it was summertime," she mutters, gazing at the gloomy clouds overhead.

A Winter Weather Advisory has been issued in Spokane. She hopes to be in the city and at her garage well before it begins.

Interstate 90 soon makes a gradual left turn as it converges with Interstate 94's western terminus.

Amethyst stirs awake, stretching in her seat as far as she can.

"Good morning, Amethsyt."

Groaning, she yawns again and then asks drowsily, "Where are we now?"

"We just entered Billings, the largest city in Montana. If you're hungry we can stop here for food, otherwise I'm going to keep driving. We have bad weather ahead of us in Spokane so I wanna get there as soon as we can, preferably before the inevitable winter storm."

Amethyst can see the towers of Downtown Billings in the distance.

"This place is beautiful. I've never been here."

"You've never been a lot of places, have you?"

"No. I've never been outside of Rochester. This is like an alien planet that looks the same as Rochester, but is different. You know?"

"Yeah, totally," Emerald replies with a hint of sarcasm. "Hey listen. It's probably best we don't stop anywhere until we reach Spokane. With what happened in Rapid City, we have people looking for this truck. They will find it regardless, but in Spokane we will have a better shot."

Amethsyt remembers what happened in Rapid City. As the reality settles in, she looks regretfullyat her hands. Her right hand is bloody but she feels no pain. "I killed Dad."

Emerald nods.

"We can make this look like self defense, right?"

Emerald shakes her head and changes to the middle lane. "Oh no sweetie."

"What do you mean?"

"Any other attack could look like self-defense. This looks like premeditated murder and terrorism. Do you even know how many times you punched your father?"

Amethyst closes her eyes and relives part of the attack in her head, but loses count.

Amethyst swallows hard and answers, "I don't."

Emerald says, "Seventy-six times."

She lets in sink in as Amethyst slowly covers her mouth in horror.

"Seventy-six times," Emerald reiterates. "Sweetie, your punches caused part of the hotel we were in to collapse, and destroyed the area surrounding it. Your Semblance was infused with your punches. The tenth punch broke his Aura. The seventeenth knocked your father out. I estimate that he was killed by the twenty-sixth."

With trembling hands, Amethsyt searches "Rapid City" on the internet search bar. The search prediction finishes with "Rapid City attack".

The first video that comes up shows a mostly dark Rapid City as a few rays of the sun stretch across the sky. The surveillance camera filming the video shakes violently as white shockwaves appear in rapid succession, about two per second. A cloud of dust billows upwards, shrouding the view for the final few seconds of the clip.

"Oh my god," Amethyst breathes. "How many people did I kill besides him?"

"Thankfully, zero. Our fight triggered an evacuation of the hotel." Emerald glances at her. "You are not relieved."

Her voice rising, Amethyst says, "No, I am not. You just told me I destroyed a city!"

"Amethyst," Emerald starts, but she holds back, not knowing how to continue. "The rest of the city is fine. It was just the hotel and the stadium. Nobody besides your father died. Now the death of your father will be difficult to explain, because he is the chief of police. And they aren't gonna care why you defended yourself against him, or what he did in the past to warrant his death."

"Why not?"

Emerald sighs and takes a deep breath. "Because it happened to me."

Amethyst looks at her. "What does that mean?"

Emerald keeps her eyes on the road as she speaks. "When I was younger, I was alone, poor, and starving. I used my Semblance to commit many-hundred thefts to stay alive. I lived a life of crime with another woman who used her persuasive skills to lure me in. She fed me. Cared for me. Kept a room above me.

"Almost twenty years ago, we launched an attack on a university, trying to find a valuable item hidden within it. My partner killed the dean who was trying to prevent the loss of the item. And then she was confronted by a powerful red-haired student. Even though she was able to go toe-to-toe with my partner, she was eventually overpowered and killed. She was just a kid, like you. Seventeen years old. Killed because of our thirst for power and money.

Amethyst says, "So you left her."

Emerald nods. "Yeah. That girl's death haunted me, so I had to fight to get away from my partner. When I did, I used the money I had stolen with her to start my own truck company. I changed my surname to Sharpway and then had somebody bury all my prior records for me, but they weren't buried well enough."

Amethyst pushes her, "What happened?"

"A man who had lost his girlfriend in the attack on the university found me in Spokane. He raped me, he tortured me, and he shamed me into silence by bringing up my criminal past. They never caught him. He told me no police officer would ever believe my story because I would always be a lying, cheating, stealing, criminal. And the police can't trust a criminal."

Amethyst, who had been staring at Emerald as she tells her story, looks down at her own feet and sighs. "We're in the same boat together." She glances out the window. "Well, the same truck."

When Emerald does not respond right away, Amethyst looks at her. Emerald glances back, quickly wipes tears out of her eyes, and sighs.

Amethyst says, "I'm sorry."

Emerald shakes her head and keeps her eyes ahead. "It's done. Can't change the past."

The interstate widens from three westbound lanes to four as it nears the center of the city. As the speed limit drops, Emerald decelerates.

"Are you hungry? Because if not, I'mma keep driving."

Amethyst shakes her head. "Lost my appetite."

"Alright then."

Amethyst leans her head on the window, watching the buildings fly past her.

Emerald's focus on the road is broken by a CB radio call.

<Emerald, where are you?> says Monica.

"I'm in Billings. I should arrive at the garage in about nine hours if I don't stop."

<The petroleum job was moved ahead. They're going to drop two giant fuel tanks here tonight. I just got back to the garage, I'll try to move one without crashing.>

"You'll _try?_ What the hell do you mean?"

<I haven't slept in three days. My last job was an urgent delivery to Flagstaff. And they gave me problems when I got there with their load one minute past the deadline because I couldn't get through their closed gate.>

"Jeez. Alright, we hoever needs that petroleum can wait. I need you to get some sleep. Emily is still on a job, right?"

<Yes ma'am.>

"Okay, I need the number for that company you just delivered to, and I need you to go to bed. I'll come by as soon as I can and pick up one of the petroleum tanks."

<Yes ma'am, I'll text it to you.>

"Thank you, Monica. You get some rest."

<Yes ma'am.>


End file.
